Chris Riback's Conversations

Why is Hillary Clinton not the first woman President? Many people, political types, historians and sociologists will consider that question for many years to come. But besides Hillary Clinton herself, the people who surely must think about it most are the ones who worked with her for years and during the campaign. Jennifer Palmieri is one of  them. You may know: Palmieri was Director of Communicat...

Perhaps this is how the Framers wanted it, but has there ever been a time where more issues with the potential to more deeply divide us – has there ever been a time where more of them seemed so likely to head to the same place: The U.S. Supreme Court? I’m talking about the 2nd Amendment, and the inevitable gun rights issues surely to come out of the growing #enoughisenough movement. I’m talking ab...

For the last several weeks, regular listeners will know that I’ve been pretty focused on the state of our democracy. We all need to pay attention. At the heart of democracy, of course, is elections… and so today we get to focus on the politics and probabilities and look ahead to the big vote this fall: The midterm elections. Midterms always have a story to tell, of course, and most frequently thou...

With the daily headlines on Russia – Nunes memos, Mueller indictments, Trump denials, continual cable TV panels – it’s easy to miss a powerful and – as it turns out, complicated – question: How did Russia happen? How did we get here? For many of us, the so-called “Russia story” started in 2015 with Donald Trump. It continued with Paul Manafort and Carter Page and WikiLeaks and, of course, picked u...

I’ve just got one thing to say: Thank goodness for John Kelly! I bet that’s not the one thing you expected me to say. But here’s why:With Kelly so much in the news – for the Rob Porter disaster, inexplicable non-existent security clearances, insulting the congresswoman who supported a gold-star widow from Georgia, his supposed role as a so-called “adult in the room” – for all those reasons and mor...

About 13 years ago, I climbed on the bandwagon and, like lots of other folks, read several books to better understand our history in Afghanistan and Iraq and with Al Quaeda — how we got into the mess and, maybe how we’d get out. You may recall – it was a bit of a golden age of reporting and writing. Among them: “The Looming Tower” by Lawrence Wright;  “Fiasco,” by Thomas Ricks; “Imperial Life In T...

I might not have a more important political conversation this year than the one I just had with Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. You’ll be tempted to look at the title of their book How Democracies Die and – particularly if you sit on the left side of things – think that it’s purely about President Trump. It’s not. Yes, of course, it covers Trump. Specifically, by looking at authoritarians acro...

If you’ve ever wondered: Where do public polls go to die, today we bring you the answer: They don’t. They live on forever at the Roper Center. One of the things I love most about doing this podcast is the opportunity to talk with incredibly smart people in fields where, under normal circumstances, our paths might not cross. I just finished talking with one of them. Peter Enns is Executive Director...

Investigative Reporter David Cay Johnston documents President Trump’s first year in office and explains why “It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.chrisriback.com/subscribe

McKay Coppins, Staff Writer at The Atlantic, joins Chris to discuss religion and politics, and his recent piece: "God’s Plan for Mike Pence." If we want to understand just how divided the country is – and if we want to consider whether it will ever be repaired – we better dig deeper into the role of religion and politics. One question: How do evangelicals today reconcile their true beliefs and pol...

First, where to begin? Roy Moore? Al Franken? Tax bill? Jerusalem? Government shutdown? Russia? The pace of politics is relentless – fatiguing, really – so you need someone of relentless energy to talk about politics with. And few have more relentless energy than Chris Matthews. But these times also call out for perspective and context. What in the world is going on? To many of us, it feels like t...

It’s only a slight exaggeration that there is nothing in the political world that Charlie Cook can’t analyze, clarify or explain. Which is good news, because we had plenty to cover, starting with the Cook Political Report’s Midterm analysis. The report -- Political Environment and Congressional Breakdown Charts – is available only to Charlie’s subscribers. But he went into the details with me.  I...

I just finished talking with former U.S. Attorney and current podcast/analysis/and media star Preet Bharara. He claims to be a rookie at this whole media thing, but if you’ve listened to his top rated podcast “Stay Tuned with Preet,” you know that’s what someone in the law enforcement business might graciously call “pretext.” The guy’s a pro. Our conversation covered the topics you would expect –...

So a couple of weeks ago, I saw Rep. Jim Jordan – Republican from Ohio’s 4th congressional district – say something on TV that I feel I see our politicians say all the time and I never believe: Call me. Rep. Jordan was reacting to something that had been written about him, something he said was flat out wrong. If you want to know what I think, he said, just ask me. So I did. And Rep. Jordan kept h...

So this is tough one. I just finished speaking with former Congressman Jason Altmire. He has written a new book that I really hope you read. It captures exactly what most of us hope for, but also seems like a ridiculous long shot at the moment: That somehow our divided country will come together around policy and politics. Congressman Altmire’s new book is "Dead Center: How Political Polarization...

It turns out the key to a great conversation: Book a comedy-writing presidential speechwriter as your guest. That’s what we have for you today. David Litt worked in the Barack Obama White House as Special Assistant to the President and senior presidential speechwriter. Those are awfully formal titles, and David seems like he’s anything but awfully formal. What he is is awfully funny. And smart. He...

If you’re going to read one book on politics this summer vacation, the word is out: Devil’s Bargain – Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency is the one. The book is by Josh Green, Senior National Correspondent for Bloomberg Businessweek, and if you believe what Politico reports, the book has President Trump livid. To be clear, as you’ll hear, Josh is just fine with that. Yo...

That’s the provocative, timely, and somewhat scary question posed by one of America’s great authorities on international affairs: Harvard’s Graham Allison. Allison looks at the rising tensions between the two global competitors through a 2500-year lens in his new, important book: “Destined for War: Can America and China escape Thucydides’s Trap.” Don’t worry, Allison explains it very clearly, but...

So where do you start a conversation with U.S. Senator Al Franken? There’s so much to discuss. Russia investigations? President Trump? Congressional Hearings? Health Care? Which is why we started with the obvious: The Grateful Dead. He’s a big fan. But don’t worry. We quickly moved off the Dead and to the policies and politics that matter today. As Sen. Franken makes clear: That’s why he says this...

I just finished talking with Sidney Blumenthal, and I know, depending on which cable network you prefer, he’s someone you already likely either love or hate. But I’m telling you, regardless of where you fall, you’re really going to like this conversation. We spoke because Sidney has a new book, and it’s excellent – It’s “Wrestling With His Angel: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln Vol. II, 1849...

Today Tom Walker is going to set you straight on politics, liberalism, free speech, and more. Who’s Tom Walker? You might know him better as Jonathan Pie, the liberal British “newscaster” – and that’s in quotes – who keeps getting surreptitiously filmed talking off-camera to his producer Tim, who’s back at the studio. Here’s the YouTube video he posted 2 days after the Trump election. By Walker’s...

What went on – and is going on – with Russia and the U.S., or more specifically, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump? DNC hacking; the President’s continually positive characterizations of Putin; former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn; new questions around Attorney General Jeff Sessions – and calls for him to recuse himself from any investigations… the list goes on. And while the fa...

It feels like every day we reach a new point of “well, this has never happened before” in American politics. And I’m not just talking about the Tweets. Ok, the tweets are something. Incredible, really. We can and will have a conversation on when to ignore and when to react to them. But let’s get past the Tweetstorms for a moment. I’m talking about actual questions about democracy and the Constitut...

The Electoral College has voted. The next cabinet is essentially filled. And with the holiday season here, and our focus is turning to the little things like peace on earth and good will towards men. And yet, even with the time passing, even with the new challenges – Russia hacking our democracy, Congress promising to hack healthcare, Navy drones in the South China Sea – nearly every Democrat I ta...

We’re down to the numbers game, folks. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll still have the name calling, threats, promises, rallies, commercials and more – I didn’t say the campaign is over – but all focus now turns to a single number: 270. What’s the best path for both candidates to get there? And what’s it like inside the campaigns in the final days. Few would know better than Neil Newhouse; because he’s...